PAX West 2017: First Impressions – Shu (Nintendo Switch)

As the last game of Nintendo Fire’s weekend at PAX West, Shu had a hard sell ahead of it. Located in the Indie Megabooth area rather than the #Nindies section, we were just about tapped out for the weekend… but when we spotted this gem—and a free chair at the booth—we decided to give the game a shot.

It turns out that Shu will soon be coming to the Nintendo Switch as well as other platforms, though it was originally released last year on Steam. It seems like the perfect title for the Switch eShop, though, so we’re crossing our fingers this one actually makes it over there.

As for the game itself, the demo was (we think?) the first level of the game, and it was a lot of fun. The art style was visually appealing, cartoonish without being over-the-top cutesy, but with a warm and approachable feel. A side-scrolling platformer, this game features 2D characters in a 3D level design, so the character can go under, over and through the area. Gliding is the main ability here—basically you run and glide your way to safety, with plenty of checkpoints along the way.

The end of this level featured a rolling boulder that you needed to keep in front of, requiring you to use jump and glide expertly in order to avoid getting crushed. Presumably this is the way the game teaches abilities—do a thing a bunch of times, now do it better or you’ll die. Not anything new, really, but when it comes to platformers, there’s no point reinventing the entire wheel.

Shu feels familiar in the sense that it’s a side-scrolling platformer, but it also feels brighter and newer because of the art and the way the game plays out—or at least, the way the first level played out. It left us wanting more, and ultimately, that’s exactly what a demo is supposed to do.